Top 50 Tucking Carriers: Reinventing the fundamentals

This is an excerpt of the original article. It was written for the May-June 2017 edition of Supply Chain Management Review. The full article is available to current subscribers.

May-June 2017

Trust hasn’t always been an element in supplier relationships; all too often buyers have been encouraged to carry a big stick and get tough with suppliers to get the best price—no matter the cost. That approach to procurement is beginning to change.

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Over the years we’ve found that the biggest trucking companies have maintained their size and scope due to the leadership of solid management teams that have the ability to transform a long-term vision into a profitable day-to-day business plan—and continue to do so in a cyclical industry where earnings for even the best companies are razor thin.

This formula for success is not difficult to create, but it’s elusive to achieve. “You have to find a niche and serve it better than anyone else,” says Stifel’s veteran trucking analyst John Larkin. “Stay true to that core service offering, watch your costs like a hawk and treat your people like the heroes they are.”

But while the logos on Logistics Management’s (LM) annual listing of the Top 50 trucking companies rarely changes, we’re seeing a new breed of younger, but seasoned management teams take the helm of several of these market leaders—changes that are sure to continue.

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